Paracetamol and saltwater rinses: the cheapest way to treat a cold

Paracetamol, salt water and rest: the cheapest way to get over a cold

There is no cure for a cold. Not with Frenadol, not with Couldina, not with Stop Cold. All branded medicines do is switch off the warning light that tells you something is wrong, and charge you between 6 and 12 euros for the favour. The question that opens this discussion is simple: if the active ingredient is the same, why pay for the brand? The answer that keeps coming up is a pack of generic paracetamol for around 2 euros, a box of mint, thyme, eucalyptus and rosemary tea at 1 euro for 20 bags, and a plastic gadget that costs next to nothing and lasts for generations: the neti pot.

What Frenadol actually contains and why it costs 8 euros

The compound sold as the star remedy is nothing more than a mix of paracetamol, caffeine and an antihistamine. Nothing that cannot be replicated separately at a fraction of the price. The branded version with a decongestant, the one containing pseudoephedrine, also comes with a warning worth reading: it should not be taken by people with hypertension, diabetes or prostate enlargement. And some argue its effect on mood is so intense that it causes heart palpitations, so it should not be taken for more than ten or twelve days or stopped abruptly.

The most common calculation is simple: one-gram paracetamol, a mucolytic with ambroxol once a day and a modern 10-milligram antihistamine. All together costs less than a single box of the branded kind. The full breakdown, item by item, leaves a difference that surprises anyone who has spent years paying for the pretty packaging.

The neti pot: the cheapest trick for a blocked nose

The remedy most often mentioned for a runny nose is not bought at the pharmacy. It is lukewarm water with salt, a vessel with a spout and a tilted head so the liquid flows in through one nostril and out the other, flushing everything along with it. It leaves your airways spotless, say those who use it daily. It costs next to nothing and lasts for generations.

The warning is unanimous: no syringes under pressure. Shooting salt water up your nose with a syringe can push mucus further in and cause infections. The right method is a gentle flow and gravity. And about the salt, a nuance worth debating: table salt contains iodine and anti-caking agents, so unrefined coarse sea salt is better, available at 21 cents a kilo.

Garlic, onion, sauerkraut and other remedies without evidence

The list of home remedies that comes up is long. A raw clove of garlic every eight hours, a halved onion on the bedside table, teas with honey and lemon, chicken broth, vitamin C by the handful. Some defend homemade sauerkraut —pasteurised does not count, they warn— because it boosts the immune system, even if it cures nothing: it only prevents. And some swear by fasting, arguing that the body channels all its energy into healing instead of digesting.

None of this has a clinical trial behind it. It works the way a Hail Mary does, as the most sceptical would say. But the consensus is that it does no harm and is cheaper than any branded box.

Why your doctor won't prescribe any of this

The common cold has no treatment. What is sold as such relieves symptoms, it does not shorten the illness. Nasal rinses with saline solution, paracetamol for the discomfort and rest are the only recommendations that stand up to scrutiny. Everything else is palliative.

The question left hanging is an uncomfortable one: if the active ingredient costs cents, why do we keep paying eight euros for the packaging? Perhaps because no one has found a way to sell rest and lukewarm water.